Then I did home craft shows, and then opened my own store. From there I started publishing, and my first book, "Oh, Snow" came out in 2001. Since then I have published 3 more books on my own, and 3 others with other artists, and over 160 pattern packets and numerous magazine articles. I teach internationally and at local conventions and chapters.

I'm currently employed as the director of our local Senior Center, a job that keeps me very busy and not painting too much. History, along with my job, has become a passion of mine, especially my local history/ I am the Vice Chairman of our City Planning Commission, former President of theMichigan Historical MuseumDocent Guild, serve on the Board of Directors of the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall & Museum in Eaton Rapids, and also serve on the Eaton County Historical Commission.

You may have heard about my project to create new ornaments for the Library of Congress in Washington DC in 2005. That project was very successful and we had over 300 new hand painted book-ornaments grace the tree in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress in December, 2005. It was a pleasure for me to organize this project and to see it carried out by so many wonderful artists, and even more exciting to meet many of those artists in Washington!

In April, 2006, I again traveled to Washington, DC, where I was honored to present an egg that I painted representing the State of Michigan to First Lady Laura Bush for the White House. We were thrilled to meet Mrs. Bush and got a

chance to briefly speak to her and toured the White House. I was able to do this one more time in 2007.

I love the opportunities that I have had to teach my painting techniques internationally. My work has taken me to the UK, Italy, and South America,

and I've met a lot of wonderful people who have share with me their homes and their country.